The invention relates to the field of distillation apparatus and in particular to a distillation tube device having an enclosed tube portion for retention of heat and having an interior trough portion running the length of the tube portion in order to gather distillate from the walls of tube as water condenses.
While there are distillation devices that comprise tubes, there are none that applicant is aware of having the same construction including: a closed outer tube having an inverted top section for dripping the condensate and an interior trough that collects the distilled water as it comes off the top of the interior wall of the outer tube. Also, the construction includes the outer wall tube having an inverted top section which facilitates the gathering of the water by falling from the inverted section of the top of the roof or upper section.
A distillation device comprising an enclosed tube of elliptical or circular cross section. The outer tube has a top portion of approximately ⅕ of the total size of the tube. The top portion of the outer tube has an inverted shape so that the inverted portion points downward. The upper section of the outer tube should be of a material that permits the heating of the tube by solar radiation and allows the radiation to enter the tube and heat the liquid. The lower portion could comprise materials that reflect radiation upward toward the liquid and may include absorptive materials.
In addition, the outer tube may comprise materials that decrease the transmittance of solar rays in response to changes in sunlight or temperature to optimize the distillation. Inside the outer tube is a trough that runs the length of the tube and collects condensate, including purified water that condenses off the inside portion of the inverted top section. The device may find use in purifying saline water or other types of liquids. The device may be used to purify liquids that contain volatiles, such as hydrocarbons in which case the purified fraction would be in the main tube rather than in the trough; the volatiles being in the trough. Both trough and tube should be raised at one end in order to urge the liquid fractions toward one end of the device for collection.
It is an object of the invention to provide a distillation device that will be able to provide purified water or other liquids quickly and inexpensively and optionally using recyclable materials.
Another object of the invention to provide a distillation device that uses solar heating as a means for distilling and purifying liquids including water.
Another object of the invention to provide a distillation device having a closed environment so as to safely purify liquids containing volatiles, such as hydrocarbons, without releasing such into the atmosphere.
Another object is to provide a distillation device having an enclosed tube for the distillation of liquids, such tube is believed to facilitate the purification of liquids that may be contaminated with volatiles, e.g. hydrocarbons.
Another object is to provide a distillation device that can be quickly set up and disassembled as the need be in order to provide for the desalination of water, or purification of other liquids that contain volatile contaminants.
Other advantages will be seen by those skilled in the art once the invention is shown and described.